A record of my efforts to build a sustainable house and garden in Matsuyama, Japan

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Shed project 3

As I mentioned before, there are no right angles in my shed, and likewise there are no level surfaces around it. Therefore setting up a ladder and shinning up it requires a certain degree of fatalism.

The ladder did once take a plunge into the orchard next door, lying with its feet up in the air, but fortunately I didn't go with it. There but for the grace of God...

The 2 be 4 method of construction is a real wonder. As soon as you nail the boards on, a horribly rickety structure is instantly transformed into something remarkably solid. The tasteful arched windows came off a bookshelf that I had retained in the face of opposition for lo, these many years. After I painted the frames the same colour as the rest of the shed, for some reason the phrase "Taj Mahal" kept ringing in my head.

Here is my shed, roofed and painted, with another local shed in the background. The older shed has a larger quotient of 'wabi-sabi' than mine. I did think about tiling it in the traditional style, but I have even less of a clue about that than about 90 degree angles.

Today I spent a few happy hours constructing a door that wouldn't be out of place on a barn, or maybe a castle. Indeed, I can hardly lift the thing. I bought a couple of hinges, then took them back and got some bigger ones which also look inadequate for the job. The question of right angles impinges especially heavily on the issue of hinging heavy doors, and I confess it puts me in a bit of a funk. There's also the matter of attaching a gutter and drainpipe which also strike me as highly technical procedures.